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Colorado ethics group hears arguments in Gov. Hickenlooper complaint

By Lynn BartelsThe Denver Post

Posted:
03/31/2014 05:18:10 PM MDT

Updated:
04/01/2014 08:42:46 AM MDT

Gov. John Hickenlooper (Craig F. Walker, Denver Post file photo)

Attorneys for Gov. John Hickenlooper told ethics commissioners Monday that the governor did nothing wrong by allowing the Democratic Governors Association to pick up his costs for a conference last summer in Aspen.

They said that under Amendment 41, the ethics measure voters approved in 2006, the governor's costs could be covered by the partisan group.

"Politics are absolutely not a dirty word under 41," said David Spector, senior deputy legal counsel for Hickenlooper.

But it's clear that the governor's attorneys were hoping that the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission on Monday would dismiss the complaint. Instead, the panel heard arguments from both sides, and announced it would deliberate in public at its April 14 meeting.

Its attorney, Geoff Blue, has sought numerous records from the governor's association about the event, including donations and contributors. Blue said the information was relevant because the organization worked for Hickenlooper's election in 2010 and likely will do the same for his re-election bid this year.

But Spector called that "chatter and noise" that has gotten the complaint off track.

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Blue also expressed concern that the commission's own investigator has released drafts of his report to the governor's attorneys but not to Compass Colorado.

"It doesn't seem fair," he said.

Blue believes the commission on April 14 should agree to conduct a full hearing on the complaint.